Blake’s eyes are wide and sympathetic as he waits for the news to settle and his hands refuse to drop mine from his heart.
“But we were told—” I sob.
“We were only told I would be by your side forever. That’s all,” he says, raising his eyebrows.
“And how is that not immortality?” I say, splaying my other hand out wide in front of us.
“Because the only way a human soul can walk alongside an immortal is…”
He holds the silence, waiting for me to catch up.
My eyes widen. “Reincarnation. Oh my God. I’m so stupid. How did I not know? How did I not pick that up?”
My fingertips graze my lips and I sit in horror at the revelation. Sure, it would have sucked to locate him again, to have to go through years of childhood and adolescence before he could be with me again—but my gifts would have easily brought him to me. Instead, I forced myself into two millennia alone. I forced him into two millennia reincarnating without me. All that time lost…
“You weren’t meant to know. It was my burden to carry and a promise I made to Apollo in exchange for his approval. He knew we’d continue to find our way to one another and he wanted the timing to be right for you to learn the truth.”
“Why would timing even matter?” Tears stream over my cheeks, dropping to my lap.
“I don’t know, beautiful. It wasn’t my place to question a God,” he says. “Holy shit—I’ve dealt with a God.” His eyebrows tug in and he shakes his head. “Until now, I’ve been 100% atheist.”
“I’m sure under the circumstances, Apollo will forgive you,” I say swiping at the tears and chuckling despite myself.
“Sure as hell hope so. I mean, wow—how many people can say they’ve had that sort of interaction? Well, and not been locked up for it?” he says, scratching at the back of his neck with his right hand.
“Not many,” I laugh. “I thought for sure you’d have me committed after this conversation was over.”
Blake shakes his head, “No way. We’re in this together.”
My heart lightens, as my burden of loneliness is lifted from my being. For the first time in forever, I feel light as air and smile with the light and love of Apollo.
“Besides,” he adds, “we can’t have our first true ‘official’ date at the coffee shop when you’re strapped down to a bed. Well, okay—that could come after, if you’re into that sorta thing now.”
His grin is infectious, and his lopsided dimples emerge in a way that instantly melts my heart.
“You’ll have wait and find out,” I say, pushing at his shoulder playfully.
“For you—I’ll wait forever and then some.”
His right hand slides beneath my hair, tugging at my neck and drawing me closer. I close my eyes, feeling his lips as they press against my own in a strange mix of memory and magic. I breathe it all in—embracing the present moment and all the beauty it has to offer.
At first, all I perceive is his fragrance of grapes hidden in the depths of his cologne—but it twists into something else.
Mnemosyne’s scent of jasmine and rose floods my nostrils, taking over everything.
“Pythia—it is time. Are you ready to resume your role as the rightful Oracle of Delphi?”
IS THIS THE END?
Diana Hawthorne’s story continues, starting July 2021! Stay tuned for preorder links, coming soon!
Oracle: Book 1
Amends: Book 2 (coming July 2021)
Immortals: Book 3 (coming December 2021)
Amends: Book 2 Sneak Peek (Chapter 1)
The Oracle of Dead Gods
There’s no way in hell I’m allowing them to trap me here.
I shiver from the cold sweats brought on by this morning’s vision. They’re coming at me now with more frequency. More urgency.
That’s why I had to get out of the hotel room and come back to the source. I need to sit inside the vibrations of the temple again, just I can be sure.
Luckily, the drive to the Temple of Apollo isn’t more than a few minutes from where we’re staying.
I bite my lower lip and clutch the steering wheel tightly.
I’m almost positive I know what the visions mean, but I’m not sure how to lean into them. Not when I’m so close to having everything I’ve ever wanted.
My jaw clenches and I cast a gaze over my shoulder. Blake’s soft breathing pulses up and down softly like a metronome to my every existence. He has no idea what awaits.
There’s movement in the old space. It feels like the old gods are preparing their return and I’ve become the linch pin to their plan.
But I’ve come too far to sit on a pile of rubble, telling fortunes to the rich and powerful while they rouse the troops. Because let’s face it, once word gets out that the Oracle of Delphi has returned, those in power will come for me the way they did before. Humanity hasn’t changed all that much.
Plus, with the advent of social media, I shudder to think how quickly the information would travel. I’ll become a spectacle—some sort of dancing monkey—and the privacy I’ve come to know and love will be lost.
Then, rather than being accessible to all the poor, sad souls of the world, I’ll be fashioned into a weapon. One they can use to their advantage.
Then, the fanatics will come. First, they’ll try to kill me. But when they find out they can’t a worse fate will come. I’d probably be locked in a vault under the Vatican somewhere with everything else that scares the hell out of humanity.
Fuck that.
I practically growl as I shudder at the thought.
It’s bad enough I have to be an oracle for dead and buried gods. I should at least be able to pick and choose where I go and how I serve.
Come on, Apollo. Give me at least that much.
Swallowing hard, I put the rental car into
